Brooklyn Nets get first NBA test in Detroit vs. Pistons

The Nets arrive in Detroit Tuesday with a number of walking wounded --typical for any NBA team this time of year, looking for their first preseason win in their first game vs. NBA competition.  They lost 101-96 to Fenerbahce Ulker on Monday.

A total of nine players --Bojan Bogdanovic, (sore ankle) Markel Brown (strained quad), Chris McCullough (rehab from ACL surgery), Willie Reed (calf), Andrea Bargnani (hamstring), Thomas Robinson (wrist), Jarrett Jack (rest), Joe Johnson (rest) and Sergey Karasev, will be out.

So who does play, other than Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young? There aren't a lot of bigs on the bench.  One possibility is 6'10" Quincy Miller, who the Pistons traded to the Nets for Steve Blake back in the summer.  He looked good in limited minutes Monday.  The game could also see minutes for two Nets who didn't play on Monday: Dahntay Jones and Donald Sloan.

For the Pistons, it's a new team, but it's hurting as well. Reggie Jackson, who the Nets wanted badly at the trade deadline, may play if he's 100 percent but the Pistons two other rotation PG's, Blake and Brandon Jennings are out, Jennings for an extended time.  Also likely to miss out: Aron Baynes, the former Spurs big, and Adonis Thomas, the former (for a very brief time) Adonis Thomas.

Of course, with the Nets down bigs, the Pistons will have an advantage with Andre Drummond, Marcus Morris and Ersan Ilyasova. The Pistons will also showcase their lottery pick, Stanley Johnson, who teamed with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at Arizona. He scored 26 points in the Pistons preseason opener after a stellar summer league.

Where to follow the game

No TV on YES or NBA TV.  The first YES telecast will be next Wednesday. Detroit Bad Boys, our sister blog on SB Nation reports, "a stream is available for free on Pistons.com."

Player to watch

Stanley Johnson is 19 years old, but that hasn't stopped Piston fans from getting very, very excited about his possibilities.  At 6'7" and perhaps still growing, the Arizona product wowed everyong the other night when the Pistons lost to Indiana, 115-112.  Other than his defense against Paul George and six turnovers, he looked like the future of Detroit Basketball, along with Jackson and Drummond.

He played the most minutes, was 3-of-6 from deep and 8-of-17 overall.  He also had four assists and three rebounds. Moreover, he led a Piston comeback in the second quarter. During one two-minute span in the third  he scored eight straight points.

From the Vault

When they played together: Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at Arizona last season... Johnson scored 17 points, RHJ added 14 and No. 2 Arizona rolled to an 86-68 win over Cal State Northridge on Sunday night.